Pot povezovanja Pod krošnjami (The path of connection under the canopy) serves to get to know the natural beauties, cultural heritage and other sights and products in the area of the Municipality of Cerklje.
It runs from the Adergas valley to the higher plateau of Štefanja gora, past Mežnar homestad to the church of Sveti Štefan (St. Stephan) and on past beautiful fields and meadows with a view of the mountainous slopes of the Kamnik Alps to Zgornja and Spodnja Štefanja vas. From here it is possible to return to Adergas or descend to the flat villages of Grad and Dvorje.
On the 11 km long route, which is classified as easier in terms of difficulty and lasts up to 3 hours, natural history, cultural history and sports content are intertwined. Most of the area with diverse cultural heritage is a protected natural value, which is included in Natura 2000.
A special feature of the route is its historical role, which connected the settlements on Štefanja gora with the lower-lying places in the valley, they were strongly culturally and economically interdependent.
At the top of Štefanja gora (748 m above sea level) stands the church of Sv. Stefan. In written sources, the summit was named after St. Stefan. The original chapel on the site of today's church stood in 1346. In 1650 a new church was built and in 1736 a bell tower was added. In 1804 the church burned down due to a lightning strike and the following year a new church was built.
The Cerkelj area in Gorenjska was known for its developed horse breeding. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, a custom was developed that horse owners made as many horse figurines as they had and then carried them around the altar of the church and placed them there as a gift from St. Stefan. Today, the old custom has been replaced by the annual blessing of horses, which takes place on the lawn below the church.
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